Now Leinster must seal deal

IT is easy to see why Leinster played so well in Croke Park on Saturday but a lot more difficult to explain Munster’s Heineken Cup meltdown.

The underdogs went out on the hallowed turf to make a point. Sick and tired of, as Brian O’Driscoll put it, having their “integrity and passion” questioned. One may even wonder, on reflection, why Munster were such red-hot favourites given how superbly Leinster had defended their dangerously narrow lead in the quarter-final against Harlequins. They were never going to be easy to score tries against and as it happened, Munster didn’t manage any.

They proved at the Stoop that Kurt McQuilkin had worked wonders with their commitment to and efficiency in the tackle. Few other sides would have stopped ‘Quins in that pulsating final quarter. Leinster did so with a combination of courage and skill. And apart from allowing a few Munster line breaks in the first half on Saturday, which they somehow got back to cover off, they were again able to mount a towering defensive effort that frustrated the favourites to such an extent that you knew well before the finish they were never going to score a try.